Waves Dave Clarke EMP Toolbox

Dave Clarke EMP Toolbox

Techno-optimized plugins for hardcore mixing and mastering

Groove Tools that Rule for Techno

Dave Clarke’s festival sets, and remixes for artists like Depeche Mode, have landed him in the top tier of global techno DJs and producers. Dave Clarke EMP Toolbox’s 7 plugins form the basis of his sound, including EQs, tape saturation, low- and high-frequency enhancers, metering, and effects.

These are the plugins that inspire Dave during his mixing and mastering sessions—now it’s your turn to be inspired by this hand-picked collection of essential plugins for DJ sets and remixes.

Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

In the 70s, the Aphex Aural Exciter had almost mythical status. It ‘excited’ tracks by restoring the highs lost through the recording and playback processes of the time, and was available only as an expensive rental item.

The Aphex Exciter’s secret for adding sheen, brightness and excitement was based on creating controlled 2nd-harmonic distortion. Now, Waves has captured the original unit’s elegant sound quality, enabling you to make tracks brighter without making them more trebly or forcing you to reach for an EQ.

API 560

API 560’s proportional-Q filter topology is known for its smooth, forgiving sound. For mic overheads, pianos, guitars, and other complex sound sources that need clear, transparent, well-defined tone-shaping, the 560 makes EQing fast and easy.

Created in association with API, this high-end equalizer is all about using a traditional graphic interface to make broad equalization changes—all while sounding natural and musical.

Dorrough Stereo

Whether for recording, broadcast, or motion pictures, you need metering that tells the truth about audio levels. This isn’t just about detecting peak and overs to prevent distortion, but about the average levels that help define the emotional responses to which listeners and moviegoers react.

Now, Waves has modeled Dorrough’s patented Ballistic process—the result of a 20-year quest to perfect the science of audio measurement—and created the world’s most precise software meters.

Kramer Master Tape

Early analog tape was the sound of rock’n’roll. Recording engineers pushed analog tape ever-further into distortion, creating a type of tape compression that made the music powerful and compelling. The tube electronics of that era also added warmth and character.

To this day, early 1/4" analog tape recorders are coveted—and extremely rare. Whether used on individual tracks or masters, these machines exemplify the sound of classic tracks, from Hendrix and Led Zeppelin onward. Now, Kramer Master Tape brings this sound to digital recording.

LoAir

Go to any movie, and you’ll experience the power of low frequencies. Whether giant dinosaurs pound the ground, or an alien ship explodes, an intense low end adds drama to the visuals, and helps propel the plot. Now, the secret is out: this popular post-production tool is great for music.

Whether making drums and bass more forceful, adding body to thin vocals, adding depth to masters, or pushing out the power in live shows, LoAir lays down the lows—with quality sound.

MetaFlanger

Creating a flanging sound is easy, but creating one that truly captures the sound and feel of tape-reel based, 60s-style flanging is far more difficult. Metaflanger isn’t about producing a flanger sound—it’s about producing the flanger sound, from an extraordinary period in musical history.

It’s all here: psychedelic guitar swirls, ethereal vocals, the sound of flanging an entire mix, crazy special effects, chorusing, doubling, rotating speaker vibes, and much more.

Scheps 73

The only way a preamp and EQ can remain coveted for over half-a-century is by checking all the boxes: a sonic character that still stands alone, strategic control and design choices that prioritize results over complexity, and reverence—that persists to this day—from world-class engineers.

The 1073’s EQ and preamp by themselves embody excellence, but combining the two creates magic. The way the EQ processes the fat, warm, inviting preamp sound is the key to the 1073’s enduring success.

With precision analog modeling of the original’s behavior—tweaked to perfection by Grammy-winning mixing engineer Andrew Scheps (Adele, Metallica, Jay Z)—Scheps 73 keeps the legend alive.